Rachel keeps it country on latest CD

The 16-year-old schoolgirl was until two years ago taking singing lessons until her grandpa sagely suggested she make a country music demo. - The rest, as they say, is history.

Within three days of it being played on local radio, Rachel had her first gig and having met Brian Kerrigan of Harmony Studios the same year she now does all her recording with him.

Rachel launched her debut album to wide acclaim in the Adair Arms, Ballymena, in July last year and was subsequently invited to the Country music festival in Letterkenny where she met such stars as Hal Ketchum, Gene Watson and Brian Coll to name but a few.

Says Rachel: “After this things just started to take off and I started getting lots of gigs. One night in the Bushtown House in Coleraine the American country star Dee Reilly asked me to go up on her stage and sing a couple of numbers. I have never felt so privileged in all my life. This also helped me to get noticed and I will always be grateful to Dee for that night”.

May of this year saw Rachel take part in Jimmy Buckley’s ‘Craic on the Costa’ tour in Spain.

She says: “Although I wasn’t on the official bill I sang each day at the poolside in the afternoon and at the after parties at night. The main point was to get my name noticed and sell my CDs, so it was mission accomplished”.

Rachel, who describes her career as “pretty hectic - trying to juggle all this with schoolwork”, has just released a duet with Eamon McCann and is now looking forward to August 10 and the launch of her latest CD.

“I would like to thank all who have helped me over the last two years. Without them I would not have had the success I have,” she added.